Abstract
Purpose :
Studies have shown that tobacco smoking significantly impacts general health and well-being. Tobacco smoking also has a multitude of negative consequences on ocular health, increasing the risk of age-related macular degeneration, cataracts, and glaucoma. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of tobacco smoking on age-related ectropion and entropion.
Methods :
Data on ectropion and entropion cases from a clinical practice from the years 2017 to 2019 were analyzed. Ages of non-smoking ectropion and entropion patients were compared with ages of ectropion and entropion smokers using normal distributions.
Results :
The null hypothesis was that the average age of a smoker presenting with ectropion or entropion would not be significantly different from that of a non-smoking patient. The alternative hypothesis was the average age of a smoker presenting with ectropion or entropion would be younger. There were 101 non-smokers and 50 smokers in the dataset. The average age of a non-smoking patient presenting with ectropion or entropion was 77.78 with a standard deviation of 10.31. From a sample size of 50, the average age of a smoker presenting with ectropion or entropion was 74.44 with a standard deviation of 11.84. Z-test analysis reveals a Z-statistic of 1.70, giving a p-value of 0.045 for a one-tailed hypothesis. Using a standard confidence interval of 95%, this allows us to reject the null hypothesis.
Conclusions :
Given the significantly lower average age of presentation with age-related ectropion or entropion in smokers compared to non-smokers, tobacco smoking is evidently associated with earlier age of onset in cases of age-related ectropion or entropion. The data only includes patients from around the Rhode Island area – potentially including Massachusetts and Connecticut – and cannot be reliably extrapolated to broader populations; additionally, this study did not address potential increases in risk of age-related ectropion or entropion in smokers. More research will need to be done to elucidate the association between tobacco smoking and age-related ectropion and entropion.
This abstract was presented at the 2022 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Denver, CO, May 1-4, 2022, and virtually.